Lead in drinking water can be especially dangerous for young children or pregnant women, but it can affect people of all ages. Lead in water cannot be tasted, smelled, or seen. The only way to know if your water has lead in it is to have it tested. Public schools in New York State are required to test for lead annually, and licensed daycares in NYC must test every 5 years to renew their certification.
Testor can help if your school or licensed daycare facility needs to be tested. It is important to take samples from all faucets that may be used for drinking water or food preparation – in a school or daycare setting, this includes all bathroom faucets as well. Lead may contaminate the water from lead pipes (if they were installed prior to 1961), internal fixtures or soldering – lead may get in the water from corrosion due to the water interacting with the pipes. Even some so-called “lead-free” fixtures can still contain .25% lead (and up to 8% if manufactured before 2014). Since the source may be unknown, it is necessary to test all faucets.
When testing for lead, two water samples are taken. The first draw should be stagnant water taken from the faucet when it has not been used for at least 8 hours. Then a flush sample is taken after the water has been run for 30 seconds.
If the water tests positive for high levels of lead, there are things you can do to eliminate exposure – from labeling problem faucets as not for drinking/cooking, flushing the pipes before use, installing and maintaining filters that remove lead, or reconfiguring or replacing the plumbing.
If you need to have your water tested for lead, Testor can help. We can provide you with a competitive quote and we offer discounts for larger-scale testing needs. Don’t wait – call Testor today!